Penn Researchers Discover the Powerful Tool of
Simultaneously Combining
fMRI and PET Imaging to Study the Brain in ActionBy Comparing These Two Functional Images, Physicians May
Be Able to
Better Diagnose and Treat Patients With Brain Disorders

(Philadelphia, PA) - Clinical researchers from the University
of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) are the first to combine
fMRI and PET scanning in radiology, creating a way to compare different
measurements of the brain’s function concurrently. This analysis
could lead to better diagnosis and treatment in patients suffering from
brain disorders, like Alzheimer’s disease.

“By using these two established methods, we now have an integrated
way to look at the brain’s functions,” explained Andrew
Newberg, MD, a radiologist in nuclear medicine at UPHS and lead
author on this clinical study. “We can now get a more comprehensive
view of what’s happening in the brain at a particular time, than
we’ve ever been able to do before. We can look at more diseases
and more activation states.”

The work combines the functional imaging of fMRI (functional magnetic
resonance imaging), which captures the blood flow in the brain, and PET
scanning (positron emission tomography), which looks at the glucose metabolism
in the brain. “Normally, these two measures are coupled, or paired
together. The more metabolism you have, the more blood flow,” adds
Newberg. “But there are times the two don’t match up with
each other like with stroke, seizure disorders, or neurodegenerative disorders.
That’s what led us to this new technique so that we can explore
many different aspects of the brain’s function.”

So how does this new simultaneous imaging approach actually work? Radiologists
inject a patient with radioactive material used for a PET scan WHILE the
patient is already inside an fMRI scanner. During the time that material
is being taken up in the brain, radiologists are acquiring the fMRI image.
Then, when that is complete, radiologists take the patient immediately
to the PET scanner, to retrieve the PET image.

“We have both machines available to us and have now put them together
in a way that works,” adds Newberg. “We can take the results
of the simultaneous fMRI and PET scans and come up with two separate results
and compare them for a new look at the brain. Using this technique, you
capture the exact same moment in the brain with both scans. It will help
to show us what the relationship is between metabolism and blood flow.
Do those two really match up in large majority of conditions?”

Newberg said one goal of this new simultaneous fMRI-PET scan is to better
understand the effect of certain medications on the brain and body. The
clinical research for this study has been conducted through the PET Center
at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and through the Center
for Functional Neuroimaging (CFN), known for its excellence in multi-disciplinary
brain imaging.

The results of this study can be found on-line at: www.sciencedirect.com.
The study will also be published in the November 1st issue of NeuroImage.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise dedicated
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Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first
medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

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